Somatic Experiencing® therapy in Melbourne and online
Body-based work for trauma and for a nervous system that won't settle
Somatic Experiencing® (SE) works with the body's sensations and survival responses, so your nervous system can settle without you having to relive what happened. People come to me for stress, burnout and nervous system regulation, as well as trauma.
I'm Rudi Doku, a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. I see people in person in Thornbury and Elsternwick, and online across Australia.
The first call is 45 minutes and free. We talk about what's bringing you in and whether this approach suits you.
Common reasons people book
It's often something small that gets people to book. They wake at three in the morning with a jolt of fear or anger, or a passing comment at work sets off a reaction far bigger than the moment calls for, and they know it. Others describe the opposite, a flatness that makes it hard to start anything.
Many understand exactly why it happens, and it happens anyway. Plenty of people also aren't sure whether what they're dealing with counts as trauma. That's fine. A label isn't needed to book a call, and sorting out what's going on is what the first conversation is for.
What Somatic Experiencing® is
Somatic Experiencing® was developed by Dr Peter Levine. Its starting idea is that a threatened nervous system prepares to fight, run or freeze, and that sometimes the preparation never gets to finish. For some people the leftover pattern looks like keeping everyone else comfortable at their own expense.
In practice we notice what's happening in your body as we talk, such as a tight chest or the urge to leave the room, and we follow how it changes. You don't need to retell the whole story for the work to happen.
Unresolved stress in everyday life
Sometimes there's one clear event, like a car accident, that keeps returning as flashbacks. More often there's no memory to point to. It turns up in behaviour, in what a person avoids and in what they feel in their body.
Difficult experiences early in life can leave a nervous system that reads danger quickly and settles slowly. Some people say they've never felt fully at ease in their body.
Anyone living with chronic pain or illness should have their doctor involved first. This work can sit alongside that care.
Insight that doesn't change the reaction
Most of us were taught that the body and the mind are separate, and that hard feelings are something to get past. When people push through pain for long enough, it can get hard to hear what the body is telling them. A pattern they've worked on for years keeps turning up, even though they understand it better than anyone.
The part of us that detects threat has to act faster than thinking. A person can know they're safe and still feel their body brace.
Talk therapy helps many people, and several of the best-researched trauma treatments involve talking. It works mainly through language and thinking, so insight can arrive without reaching the automatic reaction underneath. For some people, going over what happened leaves them more activated.
Plenty of people use Somatic Experiencing® alongside talk therapy. In SE we follow sensation and impulse at the body's pace, with conversation running through it, and see whether there's more room around the reaction. I can't promise how far that goes.
What it can help with
- A body that stays on edge, or feels exhausted however much you rest
- Anxiety that doesn't respond to logic, or feeling overwhelmed by small things
- Startling easily, or going numb under pressure
- The after-effects of an accident, a medical event or a loss
- Medical trauma, including the weeks before surgery or another big procedure
- Grief that has settled into the body
- Feeling cut off from emotions, and what that does to relationships and health
- Patterns from childhood that still run your relationships
- Feelings that flood quickly, which sensitive people often describe
- Burnout that rest hasn't touched
- Freezing or over-pleasing when conflict arises
- Strain during a big transition, such as becoming a parent, midlife or a separation
SE can sit alongside medical care and psychiatric treatment, and I'll say so if I think you need either.
What can change over time
- A little more steadiness in the body, and an alarm that settles sooner
- Less tension held in the shoulders and jaw
- More awareness of what you feel as you feel it
- Stress that passes through more quickly
- More room to choose how you respond when something is hard
- Past experiences that start to feel like the past
- More energy left over for ordinary things
Nobody can promise any of these, and they tend to arrive unevenly. Some show up early and some take longer.
Where the research stands
The research on Somatic Experiencing® is early. A 2021 review of 16 studies found preliminary evidence of benefit for post-traumatic stress symptoms, and early signs of benefit for emotional and physical symptoms and for wellbeing.
The clearest result comes from a randomised trial of 63 adults with PTSD. People who had 15 weekly sessions had a greater reduction in PTSD symptoms than people on a waitlist.
Other results are mixed. In two trials with people who had low back pain and post-traumatic stress symptoms, adding SE to physiotherapy did not reduce pain more than the physiotherapy or exercises alone.
My work sits alongside medical and psychological care, and I'm happy to talk through what's known on the call.
Sources: Brom et al. (2017), Journal of Traumatic Stress; Kuhfuß et al. (2021), European Journal of Psychotraumatology; Andersen et al. (2017) and Andersen et al. (2020), both in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology.
What happens in a session
We talk, and I'll invite you to notice what's happening in your body as we do. That might be warmth in your hands or a tightening in your throat, and we follow it with curiosity.
We move in small steps between what feels hard and what feels steadier, so your nervous system never gets more than it can manage. If it starts to be too much, we slow down or step back.
The idea is that the body can complete defensive responses that were interrupted at the time, such as the urge to push away or to run, and the alarm can settle. Much of a session is conversation, and you choose how much to share.
Between sessions I sometimes suggest a small practice, so what shifts in the room has a chance to carry into an ordinary Tuesday.
Getting started
The first step is a free 45-minute call. I'll ask what's bringing you in and explain how I work, and we both decide whether Somatic Experiencing® suits you. Booking afterwards is optional.
If we both want to go ahead, you'll receive a client services agreement to sign online. Once it's signed, you'll complete a short intake form, and then we meet for your first session, which is 80 minutes.
Sessions are in person in Thornbury or Elsternwick, or online from wherever you are.
Sessions after the first are 60 or 80 minutes. Payment is due when you book a session through my booking system.
I ask for notice to cancel or reschedule, and the client services agreement covers the rest.
For session fees, email rudi@rudidoku.com.au and I'll send them to you. Sessions aren't Medicare rebatable.
Working with me
I'm a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP), certified through Somatic Experiencing International, and I assist on Somatic Experiencing® professional trainings in Melbourne.
I've trained with Maggie Kline and Kathy Kain, and I use Internal Family Systems alongside SE when it helps. My work is trauma-informed and relational, and it starts from the nervous system.
I'm not a registered psychologist or psychiatrist and I don't diagnose psychiatric conditions. Sessions aren't Medicare rebatable. I'm also completing postgraduate study in Counselling and Psychotherapy at Ikon Institute.
Where I see people
Thornbury
Melbourne Integrated Therapies
8-10 Mansfield Street
Elsternwick
Glo Health
358-360 Glen Huntly Road
Alongside the rest of my work
I often combine Somatic Experiencing® with Internal Family Systems, which works with the different parts of us that carry a pattern. You can read about Internal Family Systems in Melbourne.
SE is also central to my work with people recovering from controlling or emotionally abusive relationships, which is described on the narcissistic abuse recovery page.
What clients say
“I felt truly heard”Servane, client
“From our first session, I felt truly heard. What surprised me most was the body work: simple exercises that helped me short-circuit stress in a way that thinking alone never had.”
“great to talk to, highly knowledgeable, skilful and empathic”Claire, client
“I came to Rudi at a time of need and found the sessions to be really helpful. He is great to talk to, highly knowledgeable, skilful and empathic. His sense of humour is pretty unique and that helped too. Rudi is very passionate about his work and generous with his follow-up and suggesting practices for in between sessions.”
“real presence and gravitas”Min L, client
“What's rare is finding someone who can be sophisticated, tender and delicate, but at the same time bring real presence and gravitas. The way Rudi creates a space where you feel genuinely heard is remarkable, and it's the first step where you can start getting curious about yourself.”
“so much wisdom available through a somatic approach”Min L, client
“I'd recommend this especially to people who think they know themselves, but for some reason keep hitting the same wall. There's a chance you've been intellectualising your journey. There's so much wisdom available through a somatic approach, and so many options you haven't seen yet. It's one of the most beautiful gifts you can give yourself.”
Questions people ask
You can bring any of these to the call, or ask them here first.
What is Somatic Experiencing®?
It's a body-based approach to trauma and chronic stress, developed by Dr Peter Levine. It works with sensation and the nervous system's survival responses, so you don't have to relive what happened for something to change.
Do I have to talk about what happened?
No. Many people begin with a single sentence, or with what they notice in their body right now. We work at your pace, and nothing needs to be retold before you're ready.
How is it different from talk therapy?
Talk therapy works mainly with thoughts, meaning and the story of what happened. Somatic Experiencing® adds the body, so we also follow sensation and the nervous system's responses. Many people use the two together.
How many sessions will I need?
It depends on what you're bringing, how long it has been there and how much support you have around you. Some people come for a short stretch and others for longer, and we review how it's going as we work.
Can I do Somatic Experiencing® online?
Yes. I see people online across Australia, and internationally where appropriate. SE follows your own awareness of sensation, which doesn't depend on being in the same room.
Is Somatic Experiencing® evidence-based?
The research is early. A 2021 review of 16 studies found preliminary evidence of benefit for post-traumatic stress symptoms, and one randomised trial of 63 adults with PTSD found a greater reduction in symptoms after 15 weekly sessions than on a waitlist. Other results are mixed. I'm happy to talk through what's known on the call.
What if I'm not sure what I'm dealing with is trauma?
You don't need a diagnosis or a clear story. If something keeps running in your body or your reactions and you'd like it to settle, that's enough reason to talk.
If you're in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 000 in an emergency.
What do sessions cost?
The first call is free. For session fees, email rudi@rudidoku.com.au and I'll send them to you. Sessions aren't Medicare rebatable.
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Start with a free call
The call runs for 45 minutes. We talk about what's bringing you in and whether Somatic Experiencing® feels like the right approach, and either of us can say it isn't.